Civet cat coffee's animal cruelty secrets

Animal cruelty during the production of one of the world's priciest coffees has been exposed by a BBC investigation.

Kopi luwak is made from coffee beans excreted by Indonesian palm civets - small, mongoose-like creatures.

But undercover reporters in Indonesia witnessed civets held in battery-cage conditions to produce the coffee.
 

Kopi luwak has surged in popularity, featuring on the Oprah Winfrey Show and in the 2007 film The Bucket List.

Many retailers sell the product as "wild", sourced in the jungle from the droppings of free-roaming animals.

In restaurants its price can reach £60 per cup, with claims of wild origin attracting the premium.
Posing as buyers, the BBC visited farmers in Sumatra, Indonesia.  Reporters witnessed battery-style conditions, animals in cramped cages and a severely injured civet cat, contradicting the "wild" claims marketed to consumers.

Farmers in Takengon, north Sumatra, told the BBC they supplied to exporters whose produce ends up in Europe and Asia.

After viewing secretly recorded footage of caged civet cats, Dr Neil D'Cruze, of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, said they appeared "absolutely depressed and miserable"

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(from bbc.co.uk)